SARAH has the holiday spirit!
by SageK
Summary: Smart houses apparently dig the Christmas season.  for yourstar202


Though she wouldn't say it aloud, Jo Lupo liked living with her former boss, Jack Carter. S.A.R.A.H. was an awesome house (slightly disquieting dating habits aside) and it was nice to come home and have someone to commiserate with. Especially when that person was Jack, because he was one of the few who knew about the whole alternate timeline mind fuck.

So, since her house had been destroyed, she'd come home every night to a sympathetic ear, a great meal (courtesy of S.A.R.A.H.) and company. Jack even surrendered the clicker to her without too much protest and seemed to enjoy mocking the reality show contestants. That's how they'd spend most evenings, sacked out on the couch with beers. Even his blink and you'll miss it attempt to actually have a relationship with Allison hadn't interrupted the routine much.

They had their days pretty much down pat as two people leaning on each other as they tried to heal their broken hearts. It was fairly boring by Eureka standards, but considering their jobs, boring was good.

After a typical day, she stepped through the bunker doors, wondering what was for dinner, but all thought fled her mind as she was faced with…an interesting sight.

The inside of S.A.R.A.H. looked like the North Pole and Martha Stewart (on 4 Loko and acid) had mated and then exploded all over the place. Christmas music played, lights twinkled and the whole place smelled like the ENORMOUS Balsam Fir that was taking up half of the living room.

Though she secretly loved Christmas, she had to admit this was way over the top.

Jack, sitting at the kitchen counter and sipping from a large cup of what looked to be eggnog, looked like he felt similarly, but he just offered her a beaten down smile. "Eggnog?"

What the hell. She figured she might as well. "Sure," she replied, dropping her bag on the table by the door and moving across the room. As he handed her a glass, she asked, "So…Who's Santa's helper?"

He grinned and replied, "That would be S.A.R.A.H."

She figured as much. Eggnog in hand, he strolled along behind her as she headed for the couch, now festively strewn with themed blankets and Santa shaped pillows. "Everything is very festive, S.A.R.A.H.," she commented and nearly dropped her cup at the house's response.

"Freeze!" S.A.R.A.H. squealed (yes, the house could squeal and, since it was a feminized version of Fargo's voice, it was never not going to be creepy).

"What?" she and Jack chorused, years of training and general knowledge of all things weird and deadly in town causing them to do as the smart house said.

"You're under the mistletoe!"

Okay, so nothing that could potentially… well, mistletoe was poisonous and could kill in large doses, but in the grand scheme of things nowhere near as scary as a tactical nuke or Fargo with a nail gun.

"According to custom, a man had to kiss any young woman who, without realizing it, found herself accidentally under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling and you, Deputy Lupo, are under the mistletoe!" S.A.R.A.H. continued, since Jack and Jo were both too relieved that they were not about to step on a live grenade to reply immediately.

"Mistletoe?" Jack asked, sounding incredulous. "We've never had mistletoe in the living room before. Heck, I don't think we've ever had it in the house."

Jo joined him in looking up to find a little sprig hovering overhead.

S.A.R.A.H. made a huffing noise and Jack sighed. "She's not going to let this go, is she?" Jo asked him and received a resigned shake of the head in response.

Oh well, it wasn't like Carter was the worst person in the world the be caught under the mistletoe with.

Wanting to get things over with (some of her shows were starting soon), Jo swiped Jack's glass from his hand and placed both their drinks on the table before stepping back into his space. His hands automatically came up and settled on her waist, the weight of them warm and comfortable, especially the way his thumbs rested against her abdomen.

Normally, their height difference didn't even register with her, but it had been a while since she'd kissed someone she had to lean up to meet. Bracing her hands on his shoulders (broad and firm under her fingers), she raised herself onto her toes as he bent down.

It was supposed to be a peck to placate S.A.R.A.H., but instead of stepping back from Jack's frame, Jo felt herself leaning further into him and his arms slid more fully around her. She tilted her head, lips parting in invitation and he deepened the kiss, tongue venturing out to meet and duel with hers. His hands became braver with every brush of their tongues, sliding up her back to slide up under her suit coat, still respectfully over her shirt.

Her fingers bunched in the familiar fabric of his shirt as they pulled back slightly, rapidly rising and falling chests pressed together. They stood there, without an inch between them and she felt like her brain had gone haywire. She couldn't get her mind to register anything other than the feel of his breath coming out in soft puffs against her lips, the feel of his nose brushing hers and the heat radiating from his body.

Blinking, she met his eyes and mustered a smile as he said, "Well…Merry Christmas."

She grinned and couldn't help but reply, "Ho-ho-ho!"

He returned her smile and offered no protest as she pulled him back down into another searing kiss.

It was a very merry Christmas indeed.

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Comments, pretty please?


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